2000 Maserati 3200 GTA Coupe

Description

Legendary Italian car maker Maserati entered a new era in the late 1990s under the ownership of former Modenese rival Ferrari and the first fruit of this collaboration was the 3200GT, a classic front-engined Gran Turismo styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign.  Marking a return to softer, more curvaceous lines from the previous era of Gandini-styled Biturbo family, the 3200GT was a powerful and luxuriously equipped car in the very best Maserati tradition.  The new model was presented to the public by Luca Cordero di Montezemolo alongside legendary driver Sir Stirling Moss and designer Giugiaro in September 1998 before making its public debut at the Paris Motor Show the following month.  Under the shapely bonnet Maserati employed a twin turbocharged version of the 3.2-litre dual overhead camshaft V8 engine first seen in the Gandini-styled Quattroporte, developing the 272kW (370 horsepower) at 6250rpm and mated to a six-speed gated manual gearbox.  One noteworthy feature was the new Drive by Wire throttle system supplied by Magnetti Marelli while the signature ‘Boomerang’ LED lights made the 3200 stand out from the crowd.  Introduced at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, the automatic variant of the GT (sometimes badged the GTA) utilised an Australian-made four-speed gearbox by BTR, raising the 0-100km/h time from 5.1 seconds to 5.7 seconds and the 3200 was no slouch around corners, able to lap the Fiorano test track quicker than a 550 Maranello.  Maserati produced 2,689 manual and 2,106 GTAs in total, making it one of the more commercially successful models in the Trident’s long history and they are now temptingly affordable.